App of the week: Spin Addict

Spin Addict depicts an endless dreamlike world of cranking gears. A single perilously narrow pathway acts as a crossing, upon which a little piece of metal takes its chances.

The journey starts with a swipe of your thumb, charging up gaming’s unlikeliest hero. Glowing red hot, it leaps aboard the metal tightrope, trundling onwards, and aiming to survive for as long as possible without falling into the void.

An endless runner, then; but in a genre you might charitably call saturated, Spin Addict has what it takes to turn heads.

FACTORY SETTING

The game looks superb, sparks flying, gears churning in the background, and cogs occasionally smashing into the path, forcing you to leap over them by way of an upwards swipe. As you enter the glass tunnels that periodically appear, their surface refracts light, temporarily skewing your view. Occasionally, massive gears on pendulums menacingly swing across the way.

Swipe downwards and you flip the pathway upside-down – essential for removing hazards such as blockages and deadly spikes. A further complication is added in your spin being finite – the metal’s addiction must be sated by regularly having it blast through glowing recharge points.

CHARGED UP

It all feels effortlessly elegant and simple – echoes of Canabalt and Monument Valley fuse to create one of the smartest and most stylish games of its kind.

Then you unlock the challenge mode, and Spin Addict zips towards Chameleon Run territory. Each of the 15 hand-crafted levels tasks you with mastering the choreography necessary to reach your goal, while grabbing gems along the way. It feels like a distinctly premium addition to what, remember, is an entirely free-to-play app.

The game still won’t trouble the titles on your console – nor even deeper efforts on your iPhone. But as a mesmerising and entertaining way to pass a few hours, Spin Addict excels. Its creators have forged a miniature freebie masterpiece.